I hosted a group of friends and clients on my annual destination fly fishing trip to southwest Montana recently. Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, and I traveled from Sarasota to Bozeman and met up with Kirk Grassett, from DE, Nick Delle Donne, from PA and Denton Kent, from VA and made the 2-1/2 hour drive to Medicine Lodge, on a 100,000 acre working ranch near the Beaverhead River, outside of Dillon, MT.
We met up there with Mike Perez and Dennis Kinley, from IN, who drove and met us at the lodge.
Despite some restrictions due to heat and low water, we caught and released some quality trout. We fished the Beaverhead, Big Hole and Madison Rivers with guide Dave King, owner of King Outfitters (406) 596-0209 in Dillon, and his talented group of guides.
I’ve fished with these guides for more than 20-years, they work hard, do a great job and know their fishery well. We had great action on 5 and 6-weight fly tackle with brown and rainbow trout to more than 20” on streamers, dry flies, dry/dropper and nymph rigs. The dry fly action was with a variety of grasshopper patterns, sometimes with a nymph dropper, or with a smaller dry fly and a few other bugs. Like fishing everywhere, there were good days and slower days but overall it was great!
Back in Sarasota red tide is an issue, but there are areas of clean water that are fine. Catch and release snook fishing around dock lights and bridges should be a good option now. There should be tarpon in areas of upper Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay. Juvenile tarpon in canals and creeks may also be a good option. You might also find them in a few places mixed with snook in dock lights. Due to the nature of red tide, conditions may change from day to day so be ready to adjust if necessary.
Our natural resources are under constant pressure from red tides fueled by residential, industrial and agricultural runoff, toxic spills and intentional releases, freezes, increasing fishing pressure and habitat loss and degradation, please limit your kill, don’t kill your limit!
I hosted a group of friends and clients on my annual destination fly fishing trip to southwest Montana recently. Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, and I traveled from Sarasota to Bozeman and met up with Kirk Grassett, from DE, Nick Delle Donne, from PA and Denton Kent, from VA and made the 2-1/2 hour drive to Medicine Lodge, on a 100,000 acre working ranch near the Beaverhead River, outside of Dillon, MT.
We met up there with Mike Perez and Dennis Kinley, from IN, who drove and met us at the lodge.
Despite some restrictions due to heat and low water, we caught and released some quality trout. We fished the Beaverhead, Big Hole and Madison Rivers with guide Dave King, owner of King Outfitters (406) 596-0209 in Dillon, and his talented group of guides.
I’ve fished with these guides for more than 20-years, they work hard, do a great job and know their fishery well. We had great action on 5 and 6-weight fly tackle with brown and rainbow trout to more than 20” on streamers, dry flies, dry/dropper and nymph rigs. The dry fly action was with a variety of grasshopper patterns, sometimes with a nymph dropper, or with a smaller dry fly and a few other bugs. Like fishing everywhere, there were good days and slower days but overall it was great!
Back in Sarasota red tide is an issue, but there are areas of clean water that are fine. Catch and release snook fishing around dock lights and bridges should be a good option now. There should be tarpon in areas of upper Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay. Juvenile tarpon in canals and creeks may also be a good option. You might also find them in a few places mixed with snook in dock lights. Due to the nature of red tide, conditions may change from day to day so be ready to adjust if necessary.
Our natural resources are under constant pressure from red tides fueled by residential, industrial and agricultural runoff, toxic spills and intentional releases, freezes, increasing fishing pressure and habitat loss and degradation, please limit your kill, don’t kill your limit!